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On Cultural Inertia: Religion just must be good…

“Intellectual Honesty and Islam,” was the title of Sarah Haider’s talk at Seth Andrews’ Thinking Atheist 300 podcast party on the Regressive Left and Islam, Nov 19th 2016. Take 15 minutes to listen to her story and perspectives on the reactions of many liberals to honest critique of Islam.

Sarah notes how not long after she left Islam and began speaking out against the religion she was labeled a bigot and as someone “spreading hate” merely for talking plainly about the negative aspects of Islam. I have recently experienced the same sort of branding.
My bumper stickers, generate a lot of interest. Not a week goes by where I don’t notice folks reading them while I’m stopped in traffic. Lately, the smartphone pops up and its a young person taking a quick pic before I pull away. When I do get feedback in the form of a note stuck on my windshield or or a shout-out thru an open window in traffic, it is generally very positive.

A week or so ago however, I had a post-it note stuck on my mirror and the text went down the same path as what Sarah describes: the author accused me of “spreading hate.” This is a common reaction to pointing out religion’s fault’s. Religion “just must be good” is the default value in our religion infused modern culture. Sarah notes she can get away with saying “all religions are bad” or (my favorite) “all religions promote terrorism,” but the minute you single out one religion and expose its faults that may well be worse than others, you are a bigot. I often say I hate all religions and that I am an equal opportunity religion-basher. They all suck, but Islam today is the worst of the lot.

In Sarah’s case and most famously with Sam Harris’ outspoken and clear analysis of Islam, one gets labeled an “Islamophobe.” Sarah points out a few of the peculiarities of Islam, that often gets Regressive liberals all defensive. She brings up that Muhammad was a slave holder and it not OK in the modern world to enslave other humans but it is somehow OK to hold up within the Muslim religion that Muhammad was the most perfect of human beings, and to critique that belief is somehow bigoted and Islamophobic.

Sarah is the cofounder of Ex-Muslims of North America along with Muhammad Syed. Many of her talks and interviews can be found on YouTube. If want the straight scoop on Islam, listen to people like Sarah. I first wrote of her “coming out” speech at the American Humanist meeting some time ago. Her interview with Gad Saad is incredibly informative as well. Take a moment to educate yourself on Islam from people like Sarah who have lived within it and who courageously speak out honestly against it, taking often heated, emotional, and just as often utterly absurd criticism from both the defenders of Islam from within and from the Regressive left who can’t listen to a clearheaded attack on the most violent and misogynistic religion currently kicking. Overcoming the cultural inertia that says religions just must be good and are equally good or bad, takes more than a bit of education. Information kills religion and also knocks out our religion-influenced attitudes as well. Sarah and many others are doing just that in not backing down when confronted by entrenched attitudes about religion from those who may have left one behind, but haven’t yet looked at their illogical defensiveness of religions in general.